We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a bedding company:

#1: Colin McIntosh, founder of Sheets & Giggles:

We chatted with with Colin, founder of Sheets & Giggles ($200K/month). In our interview, Colin says:

Build a business model first, not a product. So many entrepreneurs spend time and money building a solution for a problem they perceive without ever validating that it’s a viable business.

Additionally:

I think the single best thing we do to drive conversion is answer all Facebook comments and messages within minutes.

Further:

Don’t hire people you know are assholes just because you need someone to do the job. Suffer and do it yourself, or delay the launch, but don’t hire assholes. It’ll hurt you more in the long run.

Read the full interview ➜

#2: Aaron Spivak, founder of Hush Blankets:

We chatted with with Aaron, founder of Hush Blankets ($2M/month). In our interview, Aaron says:

A common mistake could be ignorance, we try not to believe what worked yesterday will work tomorrow. Constantly trying to learn new things and explore areas we haven't touched yet or had an understanding of is something we take very seriously.

Read the full interview ➜

#3: Rumana Bai, founder of Turmerry:

We chatted with with Rumana, founder of Turmerry ($150K/month). In our interview, Rumana says:

The world is full of great ideas, but success only comes through action. A lot of people have ideas, but they never go for them. There is no need to quit your job, but do something small consistently and get started on your dreams.

Additionally:

95% of e-commerce site visitors don’t make a purchase. One of the best methods for ensuring you don’t lose them as a potential customer is to capture their email address.

Further:

To be successful in running a business it’s important to get involved in all aspects of it – at least in the beginning. Focusing only on the product design and ignoring marketing or accounting leads to tunnel vision.

Read the full interview ➜

#4: Aaron Spivak, founder of Hush Blankets:

We chatted with with Aaron, founder of Hush Blankets ($2M/month). In our interview, Aaron says:

If your current idea isn’t successful, don’t give up until you’ve hustled at it for 4 months straight.

Additionally:

Lead times (the time it takes from manufacturing to warehouse) completely blindsided us in the beginning. It can be incredibly difficult to estimate when and how many units to order.

Read the full interview ➜

#5: Janet Wischnia, founder of American Blossom Linens:

We chatted with with Janet, founder of American Blossom Linens ($50K/month). In our interview, Janet says:

One of the lessons we learned the first year was that it is important to introduce new products. Once you have a core group of customers it is good to provide them with more options.

Additionally:

I have sent messages to many customer support emails to ask a question and never gotten a response or gotten a response a week later. If a customer wants to buy something you need to answer their question as quickly as possible.

Read the full interview ➜

#6: Joe Nashif, founder of US-Mattress:

We chatted with with Joe, founder of US-Mattress ($2M/month). In our interview, Joe says:

It is hard to go backward but sometimes it is unavoidable.

Read the full interview ➜

#7: Nan, Wendy and Jessica, founder of Ocochi:

We chatted with with Nan,, founder of Ocochi ($10K/month). In our interview, Nan, says:

We loved the opportunity we had found and were passionate about it, but would anyone buy our products and, if they would, why and at what price?

Additionally:

Treasure and nurture your customers. 20% of our business runs from returning customers and referrals. If you build and maintain active relationships with the customers you meet, you just never know how it will payback.

Read the full interview ➜

Part of

Starting A Bedding Company: Everything You Need To Know

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